What video audiences watch isn’t necessarily what’s important to them

By Martha Stone

World Newsmedia Network

Chicago, Illinois, USA

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Is there a difference between news of interest to the video viewer and news videos they actually watch?

It has long been said that readers and viewers know they should read and view news of substance and importance like world news, but frequently are drawn in by the allure of salacious and lightweight content such as celebrity gossip and intriguing crime stories.

What media audiences say they are interested in and what they actually watch are two different things.

The Reuters Institute’s Digital News Report 2014 explored how video viewers in Germany, Spain, Finland, the United States, and the United Kingdom balance the news of interest to the video consumer with the actual video news frequently accessed on each subject.

For example, while economic news, international news, and local news are areas of interest to video viewers, videos on these more serious subjects are less likely to be watched. Meanwhile, lighter and more entertaining video topics like the arts, entertainment, fun and “weird” news, and sporting news are far more likely to be accessed compared to the interest level of the viewer.

In particular, 57% of the respondents said they were interested in arts and culture videos, but 67% actually watched them. Meanwhile, 40% said they were interested in fun and weird videos, while 50% actually accessed them. Twenty-seven percent of video viewers said they were interested in business and financial videos and 42% actually watch them.

For more information, or to download the executive summary of the 2015 Global Digital Media Trendbook, go to http://www.wnmn.org.

About Martha Stone

Martha Stone is CEO of World Newsmedia Network and founder/organiser of Big Data for Media Week, based in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She can be reached at mstone@wnmn.org.